Lest We Sicken The Lord
When a person is a particularly repulsive character, it is sometimes said of him by those who deal with him, "He makes me sick." Although in human relations the remark may be undeserved, and although the feeling may be mutual between the speaker and the object of the remark, no one wants to have such a thing said of him. However, there are some people of whom the Lord makes such a remark and when he says it we can be certain it is deserved.
Jesus commanded the angel of the church in Laodicea to write saying, "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning and the end of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:14-16) Anyone who has ever tried to consume anything that is lukewarm knows the sickening effect it can have. Jesus said that these people were like that, that they were lukewarm, and warned he would spue them out of his mouth. Evidently they were sickening to him.
Further, Jesus told these people why they were so repulsive. He said, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." (Revelation 3:17) Being Christians, their lives should have been examples of dependence on Christ, but in contradiction to what they should have been they said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." No Christians since the Laodiceans have greater occasion to beware of this attitude of smugness than those of our day and especially in the United States. Individually we have the necessities of life in abundance and luxuries have become so common we get bored with them. Congregations generally also possess the financial ability to provide their needs and beyond as seen in attractive and comfortable meeting houses in good locations; modern, efficient and easy-to-use means of proclaiming the gospel; support of one or more men full time in the work of preaching, etc. Of course this is not to say that it is sinful for churches to use these things nor to decry the fact that they are able to do so. This is to say though, that those things are not the measure of a Christian's spiritual strength nor of a church's acceptability in the sight of God. Lest we become too confident in such things let us remember the rebuke of Jesus to the Laodiceans, "thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
Indeed, in these days of material prosperity it is easy for us to feel smug and self-reliant. It is easy to forget that the glory of the church is Christ, and its real strength is in his word and in faithful Christians who will live and teach it under every kind of condition this world has to offer, good or bad, kind or cruel, rich or poor. Jesus said, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:18)
Let us carefully examine our attitude toward the Lord and toward the material things with which he has blessed us lest by ingratitude, vainglory, and misplaced values we sicken him.
— 320 Minner, Antioch, California